Selective separation of ultra-fine particles by magnetophoresis

The selective and-specific extraction of species of interest fiom local environmental and other sample sources are importaut fbr scientific research, industrial processes, and environmental applications. A novel process for selective separation of ultrafine particles using 'magnetophoresis' is investigated. The principle of this process is that the direction and velocity of particle movement in a magnetic field are determined by magnetic, gravitational, and drag fbrces. By controlling these fbrces, one is able to control the migration rates of different species and then magnetically fiactionate mixtures of species into discrete groups. This study demonstrated for the fist time the selective separation of various species, such as iron (111) oxide, cupric (11) oxide, samarium (In) oxide, and cerium (III) oxide, by magnetophoresis. To better understand this phenomenon, a fbrce-balance model was developed that provides a good interpretation of the experimental results